Liquid light

This is not a widescreen model, but a last minute inclusion after a supplier dropped out.

At 15 inches (38cm), this model from LG is a neat bedroom or even bathroom-sized TV. It packs an analog tuner, some tiny speakers and even a Teletext decoder into its slim form.

Despite its high resolution (XGA in computer-speak), this TV does not have a widescreen mode - a pity because its resolution would still provide a full 576 lines of vertical for widescreen PAL DVDs.

The picture quality is fine, if a little on the small side. And it supports component video input for the best picture quality.

LG says it also supports high-definition signals but it needs development for the Australian market. It certainly produced images when fed 576p and 720p signals, but both were lopped off in weird ways. And it showed nothing with a 1080i signal.

All this is probably because Australian signals are 50 hertz, not the 60 hertz used in Korea and the United States.

Tough luck, Panasonic. The Philips equivalent is better in every way. It costs less, has a slightly bigger screen (58cm), more features (such as a built-in FM radio), much better connectivity and its screen, although small, is high definition.

Actually, this TV looks bigger than it really is, in part because of the fairly wide speakers on the sides. These have no significant bass but there is a line output for a powered subwoofer.

In addition to an already rich set of inputs, you get a high-definition input (with an accompanying computer input) that accepts all possible signal standards.

The screen has a ridiculously large number of pixels and is backed by Faroudja DCDi scaling electronics, more commonly seen in high-end projectors. These make the picture incredibly sharp, which adds to the impression of size. There are also a stack of aspect ratio options accessible from the remote control.

The colour tends a little to the watercolourish, but this is a small price to pay for the rest of this unit's performance and features.

This LCD TV is small, light and has low resolution. Fortunately, with a 56cm screen you do not lose much from the 480 pixel vertical resolution.

A home theatre TV this is not, but it would make a beaut bedroom set.

It is clearly designed primarily for the European market since it has two Euro-style 21pin SCART sockets - those chunky rectangular plugs that handle video and audio - both in and out. One of these will accept an RGB signal (not to be confused with component video) from a suitable DVD player, of which there are only a few models on the Australian market. Other DVD players will have to resort to the S-Video input.

The low contrast ratio typical of LCD TVs is not much of a problem here, again because of the modest dimensions. And the colour is quite accurate.

However, you can see the premium you pay for LCD: more than $4000 for a screen the same size as that of a $500 conventional cathode ray tube screen.

Hasn't the liquid crystal display come a long way since the Students for a Democratic Society claimed the CIA planted some on Che Guevara to track him for assassination.

No one will plant this LCD TV from Sharp on you. With its 94cm widescreen display surface this is getting right up into plasma territory.

But at this new size, the price is high indeed (about 60 per cent more than similarly sized plasmas) so I have to be picky.

First, unlike many plasma displays, you get a TV that is ready to go out of the box. The TV tuner and control electronics are in a separate box, while the speakers hang on to the sides. The slim stand can be removed so the panel can be attached to a wall, which is easier with the light weight of this set than a plasma display.

Picture quality? Superb resolution, stability and geometry. LCDs used to suffer from a narrow viewing angle. Not this one, with a clear picture even at extreme angles.

But it has a low contrast ratio, with black areas of the screen actually a dark grey. You will not notice this during the daytime, but at night it can be a little disconcerting at first.